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World War 2 Events
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Japan invades China
Japan's main reason for invading China was that it needed raw materials and resources. Japan wanted to be an industrial and military power but lacked the resources and land on its home islands. Another reason they invaded China is that Japan wanted to show of their power by taking what was previously East Asia's main power. http://www.enotes.com/homework-help/why-did-japan-invade-china-1937-an-what-was-marco-315915 -
Rape of Nanking
The Rape of Nanking was also known as the Nanking Massacre. It was the invasion of the city of Nanking, the Republic of China's capital. Japanese troops invaded the city and committed mass murder and mass rape. http://www.history.com/topics/nanjing-massacre -
Ribbentrop/Molotov Pact
The Ribbentrop/Molotov Pact, named after Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov and the German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop, is a non-aggression pact between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. http://www.britannica.com/event/German-Soviet-Nonaggression-Pact -
German invasion of Poland
For Hitler's overall conquest of Europe he needed to neutralize Poland in the east. Getting into a non-aggression pact with the Soviet Union, Hitler was able to prepare for battle with Britain and France in the west. http://www.secondworldwarhistory.com/invasion-of-poland.asp -
German Blitzkrieg
Blitzkrieg, which is German for "lightning war," is a military tactic to strike fast and strike hard. The entire premise is to launch a surprise attack, and be done with it before the enemy either has an idea on how to fight back or before they even realized they were attacked. The entire point was to disorient the enemy and cause disorganization among enemy forces. Successful executions of blitzkrieg resulted in short military campaigns. http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/blitzkrieg -
The Fall of Paris/Battle of France
The Battle of France was the German invasion of France and the "lower countries" such as Belgium, Luxembourg, and Holland (Netherlands). It's known as The Fall of Paris because it was a decisive victory for Germany. http://www.history.co.uk/study-topics/history-of-ww2/fall-of-france -
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the name given to German'y invasion plan on the Soviet Union. In Hitler's grand vision, the Soviet Union would have to subdued in order to make the next German Empire. The plans were very optimistic in which they thought they could make it to the capital city Moscow in little more than 8 weeks though strength, surprise, and Blitzkrieg. http://www.secondworldwarhistory.com/operation-barbarossa-the-drive-on-smolensk.asp -
Attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise attack done by the Japanese on a Sunday morning right as the people working there were waking up. Japan wanted to have control over the Pacific Ocean and with Pearl Harbor being a military base in the ocean Japan saw that it was in their interest to at least weaken their numbers. http://www.secondworldwarhistory.com/attack-on-pearl-harbor.asp -
Wannsee Conference
Reinhard Heydrich, Himmler's second in command of the SS, convened the Wannsee Conference in Berlin with 15 top Nazi bureaucrats to coordinate the Final Solution in which the Nazis would attempt to exterminate the entire Jewish population of Europe http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/holocaust/h-wannsee.htm -
Bataan Death March
U.S. surrender of the Bataan Peninsula on the main Philippine island of Luzon to the Japanese. Approximately 75,000 Filipino and American troops on Bataan were forced to make an dangerous 65-mile march to prison camps. The marchers made the trek in intense heat and were subjected to harsh treatment by Japanese guards. Thousands perished in what became known as the Bataan Death March. http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/bataan-death-march -
Operation Gomorrah
Operation Gomorrah was the name given to the Allied bombing of Hamburg, which had killed around 42,000 people and injuring around 37,000 others and had destroyed most of the city. -
D-Day: Invasion of Normandy
The Battle of Normandy, otherwise known as D-Day, was the largest sea invasion in history. -
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The Nuremberg Trials
Held for the purpose of bringing Nazi war criminals to justice, the Nuremberg trials were a series of 13 trials carried out in Nuremberg, Germany, between 1945 and 1949. The defendants, who included Nazi Party officials and high-ranking military officers along with German industrialists, lawyers and doctors, were indicted on such charges as crimes against peace and crimes against humanity. http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/nuremberg-trials -
Battle of Bulge
The Battle of Bulge was a major German Offensive campaign launched in parts of Belgium, Luxembourg, and France. The surprise attack completely caught the Allied forces completely off guard. The United States forces took the most damage and had the most casualties from any operation during the war. Germany also had many casualties and was unable to replace them. http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/battle-of-the-bulge -
Operation Thunderclap
Operation Thunderclap was the name given to a cancelled operation that was planned in August of 1944 but was never implemented. The plan was a massive attack on Berlin that would have had over 200,000 casualties with around half of them being deaths and with many of them being major German personnel, which would've shattered German morale. The plan was reconsidered in early 1945 but was deemed impractical. http://www.pbs.org/thewar/detail_5229.htm -
The Battle of Iwo Jima
The Battle of Iwo Jima was a major between the U.S. Marines and the Japanese Imperial Army. The U.S. landed on the island of Iwo Jima and eventually captured it from the Japanese. While this battle only lasted around 5 weeks, it was one of the bloodiest battles in the "War of the Pacific." Even through all that, the strategic value of the island was questioned, as it seemed to hold no value to the U.S. Army and Navy http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-iwo-jima -
VE Day
VE Day: Victory in Europe Day, marks the day that Nazi Germany unconditionally surrenders and the end of World War 2 in Europe. -
The Battle of Okinawa
The Battle of Okinawa; code named Operation Iceberg, was a series of battles on the Ryukyu Islands, centered on the island of Okinawa. The battle is referred to as the "typhoon of steel" in English, and tetsu no ame, which means "rain of steel" in Japanese. http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-okinawa -
Dropping of the Atomic Bomb
An American B-29 bomber dropped the world’s first deployed atomic bomb over the city of Hiroshima. The explosion destroyed 90 percent of the city and immediately killed 80,000 people; tens of thousands more would later die of radiation exposure. Three days later, a second Atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, killing an estimated 40,000 people. After that Japan had an unconditional surrender on August 15. http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/bombing-of-hiroshima-and-nagasaki -
VJ Day
VJ Day: Victory in Japan Day, the day that Japan's surrender was announced world wide, which caused celebrations because the war was finally over.
